You may notice from the reflection above, it was a slow day and Im hiding my hair in a hat and not wearing any makeup I put some new artwork behind my desk!
 The two sconces are super finds from the Dallas World Trade Center (Its like a huge 14 story shopping mall but all wholesale for retail stores and interior designers.   You can't get in unless you have an appointment or work there (my rep group has a showroom) but on the 1st Monday/Tuesday of every month, its open to the general public and some of the stores sell their samples; most times, 50% off wholesale!)  I scooped these pretty babies up for $15 each :-)

The actual map/artwork is a HomeGoods find.
 $29.99 and just adorable!  I love maps and all the different colors definitely play with my plethora of frames (...+5pts for me incorporating "plethora" into a blog post)

But back to my wall and the somewhat dead-space underneath the mirror.
 Rocky photo bomb...

...(insert Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial music)..."For just $0.25 a day, you can help feed this poor dog and the blogger he lives with"

Love that pup... Do I get a little antsy that he follows me wherever I go (aka. the kitchen, the office, the bathroom, etc)? Maybe... But with big-innocent eyes like that, he could probably get away with murder.

After I called summoned begged pulled Rocky out of the shot, this view from the door gives you a better idea of the empty space.
Knowing this wasnt something that HAD to be done right away, I casually have been browsing Craigslist the past couple weeks to see if I could get a console or buffet for a good price or find something to rehab.

2.5 weeks and $30 later... I got this guy.
 Granted, not that handsome. (Chris picked it up for me since I was out of town and even HE was majorly doubting my decision.  Really wasnt a fan of the octagons.)

But I liked it for a few reasons.
1. Its solid wood
2. Its only a few years old from Pier 1 Imports.
3. It was big enough for my space
4. It was $30... I mean come on....

It honestly wasnt in too bad of shape to keep the original wood tone, but with my desk being the large wood piece in the room, I didnt want the two different tones to fight.

Solution? Paint...
 Martha Stewart Living: Hosta to be exact.

It wasnt TOO bright, in fact, I kind of liked the dull tone, but a solid blue would definitely still liven up the space.

Just to make sure it would go, I took the swatch and tested it with different things in the room.
 The mirror... duh, it would look good with white.

And my Restoration Hardware chairs.
 Still looks fancy!

Im not in TOTAL love with my office wall color (we painted it when we thought this room was going to be Chris's Man Cave) but the khaki color is still work able.

I then began to prep my piece... hardware off (and in a plastic bag) and doors and everything good and whipped down.
  I just used a can of spray paint primer to give the paint something to hold on to (a bit easier to use than liquid primer and definitely not as messy)
I then got to use my fun new toy, the Graco HVLP 2900.

This is just the stock photo since I am too lazy to walk out to our garage right now

It worked EXCELLENT and was super easy to use!

I've been looking for an inbetween of spray paint and gobbing on liquid paint with a brush... SO happy we made the investment!  We bought ours from Lowe's at it has glowing reviews if you want to read about it HERE.

After one coat...
And the doors all pretty and done...
I love how it gave it such a nice even coat!  The finish is great!

As with every piece that I paint and later plan to put objects on top of, I sealed it with a water based poly coat.
Remember: VERY important to use water base poly when putting it over PAINTED furniture.  If you use oil based, it will turn you paint yellow over time.

Water based - paint
Oil based - stains

After everything was dry, I brought him inside and set him up...

Yes, I blurred out the mirror.  I had a facial peel a couple days before and still looked like I had leprosy even with a camera in front of my face... I dont think the internet is ready for that.

Ta-da!!! I LOVE HIM!!!
The tealy-blueish-turquoise color turned out FAN-freakin-TASTIC and definitely helps accent the wall instead of stealing all the attention from it.

I adorned it with a few knick-knacks...
And my prized possession... my Super Bowl XLII ball...

Names include Phil Simms, Randy Cross, Tony Dorsett, and Hines Ward

Back in college, I was a Journalism major wanting to get into Sports Broadcasting.  By an act of GOD I landed an internship in NYC with CBS Sports during the summer going into my senior year.  I called my boss the following winter to check-in and wish him Merry Christmas and he randomly hired me over the phone to go and work the Super Bowl for them. ("Work" aka. be a production assistant and make sure everyone was where the needed to be.)  I was a pretty much a glorified chauffeur that got to hang out on set, but they were REALLY cool about it and even helped me shoot my demo tape.
Yes, that's me and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward... nicest. guy. alive.  He stayed an extra half hour to shoot my demo. A+ for that man.

Even though I'm no longer in the sports broadcasting world (I quit ESPN back in March '09 and moved to Dallas... one can only take so much SportsCenter and shifts lasting til 2am) I still LOVE that football and the great memories of the experience... sigh...

But I am BEYOND blessed to have a fantastic job, sexy husband, terrific friends, and my little house.
Here's the new view when you walk in.

For $30 and $7 for paint, I couldnt be happier with it!
Here's the before/after for ya...
What do you guys think?  Do you like the color? Would you have picked something different?  Do you have any prized possessions that you display oh-so-proudly?  I would love to hear some stories!!

-Samm